Suns' Flaws Apparent in Loss to Trail Blazers

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns are back to square one.

In what is inarguably the most important week of the season for the Suns, they began the four-game stretch with an incredibly disappointing loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Phoenix - once up to the doorstep of sneaking back into the top 6 in the Western Conference standings - now sit in the 10 spot.

This loss also coincides with multiple outlets voicing the belief that the franchise will be listening to offers for superstar F Kevin Durant ahead of the trade deadline on Thursday.

Phoenix gave up 5 offensive rebounds in OT last night and secured 0 defensive rebounds.

You telling me this guy wouldn't have helped? Things must be so severely fractured that the team would rather lose games than play him. pic.twitter.com/TkVRIys1gl
— John Voita (@DarthVoita) February 4, 2025

Phoenix is truly stuck in neutral. Does Mat Ishbia continue to exhaust all options in last-ditch efforts to improve the roster in the short term, or does he ultimately decide to launch a soft rebuild to regain draft picks, a young player, and salary cap flexibility moving forward?

The difficulty the franchise will have in moving both Jusuf Nurkic and Bradley Beal could ultimately play a factor. How can the decision makers look at the effort on Saturday night along with the most glaring roster deficiencies last night and decide that moving forward with the same model is sustainable?

Phoenix was completely outclassed by a younger, more athletic squad over the weekend before dropping the second contest due to a clear weakness on the glass.

Phoenix got 86 points from the big three - along with key contributions from Royce O'Neale and Grayson Allen. The immense offensive output was futile due to the shortcomings on both defense and from a team rebounding perspective.

This squad is talented - potentially still one of the more talented units in the entire NBA. But talent alone isn't winning titles any longer.

Teams such as the Houston Rockets thrive on the culture that has been built from within and the array of phenomenal athletes that are rostered. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder have quickly become a dominant force in the league by doubling down on internal improvement. The Suns seldom check those boxes - and the current model simply isn't working.

Does a Butler trade remedy at least some of these issues? In theory, absolutely, but it still feels as if the franchise will need to make even more moves beyond acquiring the disgruntled Heat star to build a true contender.

Everything will be revealed in the next two days, as the trade deadline is set for Thursday afternoon. Until then, the Suns will face the Oklahoma City Thunder tomorrow night.